UWC Pioneers Nanoscience Pitching Contest, Fostering Student Entrepreneurship

The National Nanoscience Teaching and Training Platform, with its hub based at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), hosted its first pitching competition for all past and current students.

The platform is a multi-institution and multi-disciplinary collaborative initiative funded by the Department of Science and Innovation to offer a structured Master of Science (MSc) Nanoscience degree in Nanochemistry, Nanophysics and Nanobiomedical Science. The partner institutions are UWC, Nelson Mandela University, the University of Free State and the University of Johannesburg.

The competition was hosted to encourage graduates and current students to start thinking about their research and its possible impact beyond the laboratory. The MSc Nanoscience training programme is unique because it offers entrepreneurship training as part of its coursework. The platform plans to expand on that by introducing programmes offered by the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Technology Transfer Office at UWC.

Karen Eksteen, the founder of innovation consultancy Innocircle, provided all participants with a pitch coaching session before the competition, since this was a first for all of them.

The Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies donated R30,000 prize money for the winning pitches. As an additional benefit, the Technology Transfer Office at UWC will guide the winners in developing their ideas. The judges commented that the presentations were of good quality but that most ideas still require more work before becoming commercial successes. They decided that the prize money would be equally split by three presenters: Robyn Lesch, Dorah Maisela and James Mercuur.

Maisela, a second-year MSc student in Nanoscience at UWC, expressed joy for winning the competition: “It made me feel proud and revealed how capable I am and how far I can come. This was such a great achievement.”

Maisela’s research looked at the development of a nano-based diagnostic device. According to her, this innovative device has the potential to lead to simpler, more accurate, and cheaper ways of diagnosing diseases.

The judges were UWC alumnus and successful entrepreneur, Ashley Uys, who is the CEO of Medical Diagnostech, a successful start-up in the nanofield; J-D Nel from Growthlabs who represented Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies; Karen Mentoor, a coach for start-up companies from INNOCIRCLE; Ana Casanueva, Head of the  Technology Transfer Office at UWC; and, Abe Oliver, Director of Entrepreneurship at UWC.

 James Mercuur

During the pitching competition, several themes were presented, including clean water, energy sources for clinics in rural areas, and condoms that reduce HIV transmission by using silver nanoparticles.

Other proposed ideas included battery manufacturing that would address electricity issues, and all presented projects promised to generate employment opportunities.

James Mercuur, a final-year master’s student in Nanoscience at UWC, has collaborated with the Chemistry and Physics & Astronomy departments during his studies and felt “ecstatic” to win the competition.

He said his father played a pivotal role in influencing his research topic. “I have to credit my father who exposed me to computers from a young age. The concept I proposed in my pitch was inspired by a pioneering enterprise dedicated to leveraging their quantum systems for the greater good of society.”

Mercuur believes the competition was great for networking with peers and experts, and expressed gratitude for the feedback from judges and industry experts.

 Robyn Lesch

Lesch is a first-year MSc Nanoscience student at UWC whose research draws inspiration from her passion for aviation.

She spoke highly about the competition: “This competition provided a multifaceted experience that I found particularly enriching. The preparatory coaching session was instrumental, offering invaluable insights and refining my approach towards the competition.

“Moreover, the post-event networking afforded a platform to engage with like-minded individuals, cultivating relationships that extend beyond the competition, and paving the way for collaborative learning and growth in the future. Encountering individuals with shared aspirations and interests during the competition was intriguing, and the potential for mutual learning and development is a facet I deeply appreciated,” expressed Lesch.

Her views were supported by Professor Fanelwa Ngece Ajayi, Deputy Dean for Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Science at UWC. Professor Ajayi said that as academics, the competition taught them to incorporate entrepreneurship in science learning early on to empower students to pursue business careers sooner.